Jose Fernandez: "They Took Our Lunch Money."

[MJL243]

From Carl Adamec's blog:

"They (UConn) played great," USF coach Jose Fernandez said. "Talking to our staff, we have a lot of guys who haven't played against Connecticut. This is the worst margin of defeat we've ever had against them. We hadn't given up 100 points in my 17 years at USF. It's disappointing on how we performed and executed on both ends of the floor. They also had a lot to do with that.

"There has to be some kind of individual accountability for your play. We didn't get to the free throw line until the fourth quarter. We weren't aggressive enough offensively. The 50-50 balls, Connecticut got. Like I told them, they were like a kid in a candy store and they took our lunch money on the school yard. There was no passion, we were just content getting our asses kicked. And that's what happened."

https://www.sny.tv/uconn/news/uconn...matches-historic-90-game-win-streak/213265032

 

[nyfanofwbb]

 

[BostonCanuck]

Good ole Jose. Geno never misses an opportunity to heap praise on Jose for what he's accomplishing at USF, and it's easy to see why. Had the coaching roles been reversed yesterday, I could imagine Geno articulating the aftermath exactly the way that Jose did.

I think that what happened to USF last night was in part the wages of their cream puff pre-conference schedule. I hope they stay ranked next week, and that Jose considers making some adjustments to that approach for next year.

In general, our conference is on the upswing, and wouldn't it rock if we could get four teams into the tournament this year.

 

[UcMiami]

What happened in this game is the same thing that happened to OSU at the start of last season, and to Texas two years ago in the NCAA, and to Miss State last year, and really to DePaul this season. No one pointed to their schedule as the reason it happened and I don't think that is any more valid here. Sometimes things snowball in a sporting contest and a team or an individual gets buried in the avalanche. Every little mistake gets capitalized on and it just feeds the momentum.

Where scheduling really shows up in my mind is what happened in a 5 point game late in the 4th quarter.

USF was supposed to face stiffer competition in the Vegas tournament but they lost the first round game and ended in the losers bracket rather than seeing Oregon State. USF is not a perennial top 15 team - they occupy that space in the 20-40 area of rankings and especially thin year after losing Williams and their other two seniors (and another to injury.) The AAC schedule is not a cake walk for them with Uconn and a few other teams in their own ranking in Temple, Tulane, and OOC games with UNC and Louisville. Last year they had Baylor and Miss State OOC so Jose isn't ducking competition - he just lives in a lower rent district than Uconn and the other top ten programs.

 

[pinotbear]

Just to follow-up on UcMiami's post - scheduling is like dancing, in that it takes two to tango. USF is in that tough neighborhood, where some "name" programs see little to gain in playing you (because you might get beat), and USF gets little from playing significantly weaker programs. The "name" programs can usually get a dance partner, because the exposure (and, maybe, money) is good, pleasing admins and alumni. Weak programs can often find a dance partner because they pose little threat to upset a "name" school which is seeking to pad their won-lost record and stats. It's the up-and-coming, pain-in-the-ass programs that have a tough time finding good OOC opponents. Geno ran into this when UConn was on the rise in the early '90's. Between the "old girls" network, Geno's endearing personality, and the threat of losing to a UConn program that had little reputation, other established school and coaches (Rene' Portland comes to mind) made it quite clear that they'd just as soon not play UConn.

 

[bags27]

we were just content getting our asses kicked

What kind of a friend is Jose? It's Geno who's been trying to get his team's asses kicked all season!

 

[GoUconn7961]

I actually listened to the game through the Florida feed last night and the announcer was just wowed by the play of the Huskies last night (how could he not be). They interviewed the assistant coach leaving the floor at half-time who stated.. "we just got punched in the mouth."

 

[BostonCanuck]

Some good points here. It may be that a higher level of competition was not available for Jose. But I stand by my original post that their light pre-conference schedule was a contributing factor last night. This was not another 30 or 40-point blow-out win for the Huskies. This was a 65-point utter dismantling in which we tied our record for highest win margin over a ranked opponent in school history. As outstanding as UConn was, USF is a team that was not at all prepared to face a top 5 team last night.

 

[GoUconn7961]

Some good points here. It may be that a higher level of competition was not available for Jose. But I stand by my original post that their light pre-conference schedule was a contributing factor last night. This was not another 30 or 40-point blow-out win for the Huskies. This was a 65-point utter dismantling in which we tied our record for highest win margin over a ranked opponent in school history. As outstanding as UConn was, USF is a team that was not at all prepared to face a top 5 team last night.

When I heard on the pre-game last night that the Huskies were to be the first ranked team they played this season I chuckled and thought Uh-Oh..lol

 

[UcMiami]

Just to follow-up on UcMiami's post - scheduling is like dancing, in that it takes two to tango. USF is in that tough neighborhood, where some "name" programs see little to gain in playing you (because you might get beat), and USF gets little from playing significantly weaker programs. The "name" programs can usually get a dance partner, because the exposure (and, maybe, money) is good, pleasing admins and alumni. Weak programs can often find a dance partner because they pose little threat to upset a "name" school which is seeking to pad their won-lost record and stats. It's the up-and-coming, pain-in-the-ass programs that have a tough time finding good OOC opponents. Geno ran into this when UConn was on the rise in the early '90's. Between the "old girls" network, Geno's endearing personality, and the threat of losing to a UConn program that had little reputation, other established school and coaches (Rene' Portland comes to mind) made it quite clear that they'd just as soon not play UConn.

Solid point - and to your point, I believe both Miss State and Baylor last year said, sure we will play you on our home court, but we really aren't interested in doing a return visit, and Jose 'sucked it up' and accepted.

 

[BostonCanuck]

Solid point - and to your point, I believe both Miss State and Baylor last year said, sure we will play you on our home court, but we really aren't interested in doing a return visit, and Jose 'sucked it up' and accepted.

Good for him. It is too bad they lost the first round in Las Vegas, as that probably left an unanticipated gap in their pre-conference plans. Jose brought a lot of new players onto his squad this year and they would have benefited from the higher level of competition. But I'm not too worried for his team. They beat both Temple and Tulane in conference already. More than likely they will have a respectable showing against us during the rematch in February on their home court.

 

[BobbyJ]

If Auriemma considers Jose a very good coach then that's good enough for me. He knows his Xs and Os and from his statement seems to know what's missing from his team. But being a good coach to me also means being a good recruiter and knowing the type of players you need to compete on a high level. I'm sorry but I didn't see any USF players capable of physically or mentally competing with UConn. Not beating but competing. IMO, Jose needs to do a better job recruiting. It kind of reminds of that football coach a few years ago with the wacky interview. He said something like "We don't need no cats (Meow!), we need to get us some Dawgs!"

 

[BostonCanuck]

If Auriemma considers Jose a very good coach then that's good enough for me. He knows his Xs and Os and from his statement seems to know what's missing from his team. But being a good coach to me also means being a good recruiter and knowing the type of players you need to compete on a high level. I'm sorry but I didn't see any USF players capable of physically or mentally competing with UConn. Not beating but competing. IMO, Jose needs to do a better job recruiting. It kind of reminds of that football coach a few years ago with the wacky interview. He said something like "We don't need no cats (Meow!), we need to get us some Dawgs!"

Agreed. His strategy is to fill the roster with a lot of the best foreign players from places like Spain. But it must be difficult to benchmark them against the rated pool of hoopsgurlz, for example, so how do you really know what you're getting? I'm sure misfires happen. In last night's game, I noticed an apparent lack of both conditioning and mental toughness. The looks on some of their faces when they cut to close ups was stunning.

 

[chrissaran]

Schedule the 15 - 25 ranked teams.

 

[BobbyJ]

Agreed. His strategy is to fill the roster with a lot of the best foreign players from places like Spain. But it must be difficult to benchmark them against the rated pool of hoopsgurlz, for example, so how do you really know what you're getting? I'm sure misfires happen. In last night's game, I noticed an apparent lack of both conditioning and mental toughness. The looks on some of their faces when they cut to close ups was stunning.

Agreed. That's why if it were me I wouldn't be wasting time in Spain. IMO, the majority of the most skilled and toughest players are right here in the USA and to compete with the best you've got to get the best.

 

[Carnac]

Good ole Jose. Geno never misses an opportunity to heap praise on Jose for what he's accomplishing at USF, and it's easy to see why. Had the coaching roles been reversed yesterday, I could imagine Geno articulating the aftermath exactly the way that Jose did.

I think that what happened to USF last night was in part the wages of their cream puff pre-conference schedule. I hope they stay ranked next week, and that Jose considers making some adjustments to that approach for next year.

In general, our conference is on the upswing, and wouldn't it rock if we could get four teams into the tournament this year.

BC, I was going to suggest the exact same thing you articulated in this post. I'm glad I read your post before I did. I commented in a post yesterday before the game that USF had not play anyone that prepared them for this game. I personally was not impressed with their won-loss record based on who they played up to this point.
FACT: You can't be expected to swim a 25 mile marathon race in the ocean, if you've done all of your training up to that point in a heated pool.
BC, your observation is spot on!!!

 

[easttexastrash]

Good ole Jose. Geno never misses an opportunity to heap praise on Jose for what he's accomplishing at USF, and it's easy to see why. Had the coaching roles been reversed yesterday, I could imagine Geno articulating the aftermath exactly the way that Jose did.

I think that what happened to USF last night was in part the wages of their cream puff pre-conference schedule. I hope they stay ranked next week, and that Jose considers making some adjustments to that approach for next year.

In general, our conference is on the upswing, and wouldn't it rock if we could get four teams into the tournament this year.

If a team stays ranked after losing by 65 points then something is wrong with the voters.

 

[huskyd]

Teams generally say after losing to UConn that they had a positive learning experience that will help them later on. It's hard to see what Jose and the Bulls gained from this beatdown. Geno has a soft spot for the USF coach (and, truth be told, so do I). I hope they put this out of mind and go on to have a decent season.

There is so much to say about all of the good things that happened last night; yet words feel inadequate. Perhaps the only way to do justice to the game is to just watch it again and let it wash over you for the pure joy it was. Being a UConn fan is like little else.

 

[housekeys]

I kinda agree with Jose that they had a bunch of players who have never been on same floor as UConn. Same thing with Texas, Miss St etc. in years past. But honestly it could have been anything, it would not have mattered considering the way UConn played, like Geno said.

 

[Plebe]

If a team stays ranked after losing by 65 points then something is wrong with the voters.

Not when the loss is to UConn. DePaul only dropped from 15 to 16 after its 45-point loss to UConn.

 

[easttexastrash]

Not when the loss is to UConn. DePaul only dropped from 15 to 16 after its 45-point loss to UConn.

Regardless of who it is to, no team that loses by 65 points belongs in the top 25. Baylor is criticized for playing creampuffs...Jose's team is a wet creampuff.

 

[Plebe]

Regardless of who it is to, no team that loses by 65 points belongs in the top 25.

Funny, I haven't seen a section in the bylaws titled "Maximum Number of Points a Team Can Lose By and Still Be Ranked."

Another point of reference: Even after its 60-point drubbing in the Sweet 16, Mississippi State was ranked 18th in the final coaches poll after last year's NCAA tournament: 2016 Women's College Basketball Rankings and Polls for Week 4 - ESPN

 

[GiladKatzDeli]

Always really liked Coach Fernandez and his staff. I've said it before, but I'm surprised assistant Jeff Osterman hasn't gotten more head coaching looks.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Good ole Jose. Geno never misses an opportunity to heap praise on Jose for what he's accomplishing at USF, and it's easy to see why. Had the coaching roles been reversed yesterday, I could imagine Geno articulating the aftermath exactly the way that Jose did.

I think that what happened to USF last night was in part the wages of their cream puff pre-conference schedule. I hope they stay ranked next week, and that Jose considers making some adjustments to that approach for next year.

In general, our conference is on the upswing, and wouldn't it rock if we could get four teams into the tournament this year.

Coach Jose--has always put on the floor competitive kids that gave Uconn, even with the big 3, tough games for nearly3 quarters-- They had 3 really good kids who never gave up.
Jose --should take away from this game--Uconn played near perfect defense and equally near perfect offense from 7 players
6 in double figures---sometimes the stampede is just too much for even the most courageous cowboy to contain!!

 

[BroadwayVa]

Teams generally say after losing to UConn that they had a positive learning experience that will help them later on. It's hard to see what Jose and the Bulls gained from this beatdown. Geno has a soft spot for the USF coach (and, truth be told, so do I). I hope they put this out of mind and go on to have a decent season.

There is so much to say about all of the good things that happened last night; yet words feel inadequate. Perhaps the only way to do justice to the game is to just watch it again and let it wash over you for the pure joy it was. Being a UConn fan is like little else.

Not to be disagreeable--Jose said he a lot of kids that never played Uconn ???? That can only mean that teams that never met until the NCAA's are going to lose?? It was just a odd comment coming from a coach. I am one that always respected Jose's past teams!! They had 2 scorers and they were kept in check until the 4th quarter--fantastic UC defense.